~ …..and across the Ocean!

This Is A Test

I’ve always wondered if people are actually reading my blog….not that I’m a great writer, because I’m not, and if truth be told, English and writing essays were my least favorite and worst grades in school (thank you God for Cliff Notes) as I’m more of a math-science girl.

I started this blog because my husband’s job was taking us to a place most people had never heard of…Bydgoszcz, Poland. In fact the most commonly asked question when we were telling our friends was “Who moves to Poland? People actually move to Poland?” Well, yes they do and so we did.

So we both “jumped out of our box” and went to Poland. And we fell in love (not with each other, because we did that 39 years ago), but in love with Poland! The people, the city, the sights, the city living, the great apartment with an even greater view, riding the trams, train travel, neighborhood grocery stores, walking, walking and more walking, the church we attended, the lody (ice cream), the parks, the history. So many things to mention. We made great friends, found a church family (and more new friends) that welcomed us with open arms and ate food we’d never had before (David is definitely more adventurous there). I could go on and on. Suffice it to say….We were blessed beyond measure.

As the saying goes…all good things must come to an end. Yes, we are jumping back across the “big pond”….right now, yes today, December 31, 2015. We are at the airport as I’m writing waiting for our first of three flights..Warsaw to Frankfurt to Newark to Norfolk. No squealing….yes, you read that right, unless you are up in the wee hours of the morning, we are flying 4,400+ miles right now back to the United States.

As a lot of you know, The contract that David was working under was not going to be renewed. But then another job opportunity in Poland opened up…a remote chance, but we were all in. Then in November, unsolicited, David was contacted about a job in Suffolk, so he applied and they offered him a job. We prayed and hemmed and hawed, as at the time it was still a slight possibility that a new job contract would be approved, and we did want to stay. Should he take the job, should he wait to hopefully stay in Poland?

Well, I unexpectedly made the decision more easy….I had a gall bladder attack that landed me in the hospital for 3 days. The doctors wanted to remove my gall bladder, I wanted to keep it. We decided that was our “God-push” to make the decision for David to accept the job in Suffolk, which he starts on January 4th. But…he couldn’t tell anyone until after the contracts in Poland were decided on….which was 2 weeks ago.

But eveything has fallen perfectly into place. Our landlord found a new tenant who needed to move in the exact day we were leaving. We still have our house, so we have someplace to live. David was able to sell the car he bought in Poland, and I have a part time job possibility. And my gall bladder is behaving again.

So we’ve spent our last two weeks saying good-byes to our friends, crying a few tears, and the last two days furiously packing 10 boxes that we shipped and 7 (yes seven!) suitcases. Not sure how we accumulated so much! (Ok, well yes, I do….it’s called shopping and the great exchange rate between US dollars and the Polish Zloty). And…because we are flying two airlines, Lufthansa and United and due to an upgrade to business class gift from our daughter and different rules for how many bags we could check, they told us there was “no charge”! All seven of our bags were FREE!, not the $500 we were expecting to pay!

So our New Year starts off with a promise of new jobs, renewed friendships, and new friendships and memories of 2015 to last a lifetime! Hope you will be as blessed in the New Year as we are!

So how is this a test? Well, if I see you around town, or in the grocery store, or at church and you aren’t surprised to see us, I’ll know you have read my blog!

If you want to comment, please comment on my blog site and sshhhh, don’t tell or my test results will be screwed!

13 thoughts on “This Is A Test”

What a grand adventure you have had — and I have enjoyed reading about it! However, I am excited that you are not only coming back to the US, but to your home in Virginia Beach. Let’s do try to get together for dinner soon! Do we need to get our name on your waiting list?
Welcome home, friends!

Welcome back to the USA! I’m sorry that your “grand tour” has ended somewhat abruptly, but happy that new adventures await you here at home. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog and vicariously see Europe! Best wishes for the new year and new adventures!

Thrilled to hear to are US bound and hope to see you very soon! I know you don’t think writing is your talent but you do write VERY well. Your blog had been entertaining and informative. At times you transport the reader to the very places you’ve been. I hope you can continue to write from “inside the box”. ~Karen Meads

Yes, I have more stories to tell and places we went, just didn’t have time to get it all down, so hoping to tell more, plus share Virginia Beach with the friends we made in Poland. We will see you soon!

I don’t think I’m done writing about Poland yet, I’ve got more to tell…there is so much that I’d still like to share even though we aren’t physically there anymore. It was great seeing everyone on Sunday.